Inflation in Nigeria continues its relentless ascent as it hits 24.08% in the month of July amid foreign exchange scarcity and high pump prices.
The represents a 129 basis-point increase when compared to the previous month’s 22.79%.
The NBS said, “In July 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 24.08 per cent relative to June 2023 headline inflation rate which was 22.79 per cent.
“Looking at the movement, the July 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.29 per cent points when compared to June 2023 headline inflation rate.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.44 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2022, which was 19.64 per cent. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in July 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., July 2022).”
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), inflation rate has now increased for the sixth consecutive month this year.
On a monthly basis, inflation rate rose by 2.89%, a 0.76% increase over June 2023’s figure of 2.13%.
The NBS report showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 12.47% year-on-year to inflation while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels accounted for 4.03%, and clothing and footwear contributed 1.84%.
In the month under review, food inflation grew by 26.98% in July 2023, higher than the 25.25%. Year-on-year, this represents 4.97% increase from the corresponding period in 2022.
On a monthly basis, food inflation rose by 3.45% in July from the 2.4% reported in the month of June.
The ripple effects of this inflationary wave are being felt across sectors, even with passenger transport, vehicle spare parts, medical services, and personal transport equipment maintenance and repair seeing substantial price increases.
As Nigeria navigates through this inflationary turbulence, policymakers and citizens brace for impact, hoping for stability to be restored soon.